Daily Times

The detailed verdict given by the special court is Gen Pervez Musharraf’s case is disturbing on many levels. The verdict is an example that unless Pakistan’s judicial system is reformed to the core, institutional clashes and the dispensation of justice will continue to remain a victim.

Here are some thoughts.

Globally, courts and judiciary often provide a collective and relational social space in which different political actors contest the legality and interpretation of laws. However, all of this done through structures that keep a balance among various institutions in space. The institutions don’t only exist at the state level but also live at the individual and societal level as well.

In Pakistan, a primary consequence of the politicization of the judiciary has been that courts have either stopped dispensing justice or marched beyond their jurisdiction to issue judgments that have the state’s balance.

The case of Pervez Musharraf’s case is an example of the judiciary’s attempt to disrupt the existing balance among the state institutions and drag associated bodies into a conflict that will end up hurting the country’s interests. For instance, the court’s detailed judgment is so appalling that it completely misses the point of why the case was filed in the first place. If the point was to prove Musharraf’s role in the 2007 emergency situation, then it was important that all actors involved in the process should have been made a part of the legal process. Pinning the process to one person only proves the malice that has dominated the judiciary’s view.

The fact that the court’s ruling calls for the dragging of a human’s corpse not only tarnishes the verdict’s credibility but also raises questions about the individual’s intentions and standing

If one is to look at what has happened over the last few months, it becomes clear that from the Supreme court to the court which gave a verdict against Musharraf, intent has been made public to punish a person. Justice Khosa, on several occasions, made it clear that how he viewed Musharraf’s case and what his disposition was when it comes to giving a judgment.

It’s ironic that for some reason, the judges of the supreme court feel obliged to make their intentions. A part of this is due to the court’s inability to do their work effectively and judiciously. When courts and judges start giving verdicts in media, their credibility and moral authority become tainted. Arguably, it feels like that court in an attempt to hide their own institutional mistakes have decided to pin one person as a target – leaving implications on a broader and national level.

The fact that the court’s ruling calls for the dragging of a human’s corpse not only tarnishes the verdict’s credibility but also raises questions about the individual’s intentions and standing. The verdict and its language itself is non-constitutional and should be deemed non-binding in all means.

If all the superior courts need to punish the lower courts, bar counsels and judges that have become the reason for Pakistan’s failed legal system. As per the latest statistics of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), “there are 38,539 cases pending with the SC, 293,947 with the five high courts and 1,869,886 cases with the subordinate judiciary of the four provinces and the federal capital.” Moreover, in most civil and income matters, the complainants have to wait years – sometimes the third generation of the petitioners get the final verdict in their cases. Another recent report said that the judiciary is one of the most corrupt institutions in Pakistan and the institution’s practices have become both exploitive and oppressive.

A recent example is that of Lahore’s incident where lawyers of a bar council invaded a hospital. Bar counsels are managed and ran by political interests and at times provincial and superior courts legitimacy have been challenged by these counsels. Virtually, the bar counsels are nothing less than officially registered gangs that are a stigma on the country’s judicial system.

The special court’s verdict in Pervez Musharraf’s case may have made history but it’s a history which is nothing short of disgrace and malice on the part of the judiciary.

The writer is a freelance journalist and a correspondent for The Diplomat, based in Lahore